Girls club volleyball Dream Team: Pixlar, Southall, Snowbarger, Palmi, Harwood, Bellus, Brand, Sowers

Girls club volleyball Dream Team: Pixlar, Southall, Snowbarger, Palmi, Harwood, Bellus, Brand, Sowers

6 mars 2024

Volley

Every Wednesday during the club season, VolleyballMag recognizes a Dream Team of eight girls volleyball players (15s to 18s age groups) who were standouts the weekend before. The team, most weeks, consisted of the following:

Setter or S/RS
Setter, S/RS or RS
OH
OH
MB
MB
Libero
DS

We include our eight-player Dream Team below, as well as others we considered, based exclusively upon nominations received.

Note to coaches and directors: while there is no science to how we choose members of our Dream Team, performing on bigger stages will give players an edge, as will nomination forms that describe with specificity how well a player performed the previous weekend.

VolleyballMag DREAM TEAM for March 6
S: Kaia Pixler, 6-0 Jr., AZ Storm Elite 17 Thunder (AZ) – It’s easy to be effective when you have terminators like Teraya Sigler and Devyn Wiest on the left side. Pixler made her team even more potent, and led it to the 17 Open title at Sunshine this past weekend, by balancing the offense between the outsides, the right side and middles.

RS: Jordin Southall, 5-11 Soph., Game Point 16 Rox (FL) – Before Southall got hurt, she was terminating like no other on the right side for GP. The Florida club qualified second thanks in large part to her work, but might have won it all with her on the court for the championship match.

OH: Sara Snowbarger, 6-1 Soph., Mintionette m. 61 (OH) – Mintonette won the first 16 Open national qualifier of the 2024 season, with Snowbarger as the catalyst. When the rest of her team was sluggish to start on Saturday, Snowbarger was on fire. Her ability to terminate was a constant for three days and carried Mintonette to the title without a loss on its resume.

OH: Cate Palmi, 5-7 Soph., Game Point 16 Rox (FL) – Palmi may stand only 5-7, but she is a beast and proved it again this past weekend at the Sunshine Classic. This firecracker is a team kill leader always and plays with a passion that is infectious.

MB: Brooke Harwood, 6-4 Soph., AZ Storm Elite 16 Thunder (AZ) – Harwood was a beast for Storm, which qualified in 16 Open at the Sunshine Classic this past weekend. The sophomore was terrific in front of the setter and as a blocker, but she was stupendously good off of one foot. Near automatic.

MB: Aubrey Bellus, 6-2 Jr., AZ Sky 17 Gold (AZ) – Bellus was an unstoppable force in the middle for Sky, which qualified second in a stacked 17 Open field at Sunshine in Orlando.

Libero: McKenna Brand, 5-6 Sr. Dallas Skyline 18 Royal (TX) – Brand was outstanding, especially on defense, as Skyline overcame a good field to win 18 Open at the Boston qualifier. “She amazes me each and every tournament,” said coach Robert Brown. “She took it up a notch to help us secure our bid.”

Alexis Sowers

DS: Alexis Sowers, 5-4 Soph., JJVA 16 Teal (FL) – Sowers was a standout for JJVA this past weekend and helped 16 Teal secure a bid in the 16 USA division at the Sunshine Classic. Her incredible save in Game 3 of the finals was instrumental to the win for the Jacksonville club. Tied at 17-17, Sowers laid out to dig up a ball that was heading out of bounds. The team, which had been rebuffed in nine previous match points, won the next point to take the title. Sowers also was a spark for JJVA with long service runs periodically throughout the three-day tournament and had some key digs in the semifinals.

Also considered (by position, in order of consideration)
S: Campbell Flynn, 6-3 Jr., Legac7 17-1 Adidas (MI) – Considered the premier setter in the ’25 class, Flynn could make this list every time she plays, that’s how good she is! This past weekend at the Sunshine Classic, the Nebraska recruit recorded 161 assists, 39 kills (hitting .386) and 44 digs as Legacy checked in fifth in the 17 Open division. “Campbell moves the ball around extremely well and does an outstanding job of getting her teammates one on one hitting opportunities while also being a threat herself at the net,” said coach Kacy Byron.

S: Ava Martin, 5-9 Sr., Pohaku 18.1 (KS) – Martin is the glue for this gritty Pohaku team. Her consistency makes the hitters on Pohaku’s team shine. This weekend, at Boston, that was good enough to take an 18 Open bid back to Kansas.

***

OH: Georgi Stein, 6-0 Jr., AZ Sky 17 Gold (AZ) – Stein overcame flu-like symptoms to be a six-rotation asset at every skill for Sky, which was seeded 23rd to start the 17 Open division at the Sunshine Classic and finished in second place with an Open bid.

OH: Maggie Kurpeikis, 6-2 Fr., Adversity 15 adidas (IL) — Kurpeikis was unstoppable all weekend at the Great Lakes Regional Qualifier. She helped 15 adidas get 3rd place in the tournament. The team went 6-1 in matches and 12-3 in sets. The freshman swung .429 on the weekend with 74 kills in seven matches. She also led the team in aces with 13. “Maggie is a 6-rotation pin who played both outside and right side and brought extreme grit and competitiveness all weekend,” said Adversity’s Kyle Masterson. “The future is beyond bright for this athlete!”

OH: Jada Ingram, 6-0 Sr., Pohaku 18.1 (KS) – A converted middle, Ingram led her club in kills and to an Open bid this past weekend at the Boston National Qualifier.

***

MB: Olivia Grenadier, 5-11 Jr., Legacy 17-1 Adidas (MI) – The Colorado recruit had a great weekend in Orlando at the Sunshine Classic and lead Legacy to fifth place in a stacked, 48-team field. She finished the weekend with 65 kills, hit an outrageous .467, and added 21 blocks and 14 digs. “Liv is always available in transition and is consistently an option from all locations as a middle attacker,” said coach Kacy Byron.

***

Libero: Lily LaFlesch, 5-7 Jr., AZ Sky 17 Gold (AZ) – La Flesch passed half the court and shut down OHs when they swung angle for Sky, which was a surprise qualifier in a stacked 17 Open division at the Sunshine Classic. “Lily was the heart and soul of our defense,” said head coach Beau Lawler.

Libero: Summer Suppik, 5-5 Sr., Mizuno Long Beach 18 Rockstar (CA) – Suppik was a standout for Rockstar, which won a local SCVA Power League event on the weekend.

Libero: Carli Grace Criddle, 5-3 Soph., Infinity 16 REN (MS) – Criddle was all effort this past weekend at March Madness in Alabama. Her team was able to secure first place in the 16 American division. Said coach Taylor Mraz: “She constantly communicated with her back row players and with her hitters telling them where to place the ball. She also had some really great serves. She is a huge asset to our team.”

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